Trip date: October 13, 2021
Find this SpotWe had planned to be hammering out Bob’s cabin on this trip; framing, windows, and hopefully roof before Winter, however, Bob had second thoughts about getting all that accomplished before winter set in, and we both had other trips planned which limited our time, and the key to this phase was getting the roof on to protect all the other work over the Winter, the last step, so there certainly was some risk. He decided to play it safe and not feel rushed, so he just brought up a load of lumber and we focused on buttoning up my cabin and the trailer cover gutters for rain/snowmelt collection.
I remembered I forgot to get ice, as I pretty much just took food we had and some stuff from the freezer to eat, so I didn’t really make a list or shop specifically for the trip. It was great to take advantage of food we already had, but it did cause some confusion not shopping at all. I realized, despite the cold temperatures up there, I would at least need cocktail ice, so I made a not so quick pit stop at Safeway on my way out. For having almost no customers that early in the morning, it never seems to be a quick and easy in and out with the morning crew.
The low temperatures have been in the teens up there, but the daytime temps have been in the 50’s, sunny and clear. I didn’t want to deal with the below freezing road surfaces going over Donner Summit so I went up highway 32 out of Chico. I never decide if I am going to stay on I-5 and take Highway 32 out of Orland into Chico, or take the 99/70 split into Marysville until I am at the exit, and this time I decided to stay on I-5. Up by the airport it slowed down, which it almost always did, but this time it had a different odor. The traffic never picked up again and we settled into bumper to bumper gridlock with very little movement. I realized I was stuck.
The next exit was only a mile away but it was across the river and I didn’t was to stay in this any longer than I had to. I saw my path. The center divider had a break in the guard rail for the CHP to use, so I jumped on it, spraying gravel and dust as I hit the accelerator with gusto to quickly get up to speed as I was entering the fast last of Southbound I-5 from a standstill. Fortunately, visibility was good at that spot and my timing was excellent, so I had a good gap in the light traffic heading South. I whipped around and was up to speed in no time, much relieved from the bondages of a massive traffic jam to start my trip.
I only had to go a couple miles South on 5 before I exited onto 99/70 and headed North in very light traffic and I was feeling good again. I don’t like taking the highway 99 split right away in Pleasant Grove, so I stayed on 70 into Marysville. I didn’t realize it until I was talking to Bob, but you can head East in Marysville across the river into Yuba City and then pick up 99 there and head into Chico. I don’t know if that is part of the stretch of 99 I don’t like or not, but I will take that route some time just to do it. This time, as always, I stayed on 70 through Oroville, and on into Chico. It was a real pleasant drive.
Up and down Chico Creek and the Deer creek was super beautiful as the Dogwood, oaks, and willows were bright Fall colors. The creeks had a fair amount of water in them which is very pleasing and calming, and many smaller tributaries were already feeding the main creeks as well. With a very small load, and very light duty at the property, it was a very relaxing drive, although I did lose my pills as they fell of my handkerchief off the center divide, and my stupid low tire pressure light came back on after being out for a few months, but after the last trip, I knew it meant nothing, so it was easy to ignore.
I gassed up in frigid Chester, and then got in line at the massive road construction site on 36 up and over Fredonyer Pass. I wasn’t as lucky as last time, but my wait wasn’t too long, and they have a loan asphalted now, so the trip through the construction goes a little faster. My wait was long enough to realize I didn’t have anything for lunch, today or the other 2 days I’d be at the property, so I stopped at the IGA Supermarket in town, and picked up a sandwich and way more grub than I could possibly consumer, but it is a great little market and always a good stop; no mask required.
Back on the road and fully stocked, the last stretch to the property is always enjoyable. I was happy to see the gate unlocked, meaning Bobby was already there, but I hoped he didn’t have to wait too long as he didn’t have a key to the upper gate. I found him backed under a Juniper, with is chair set up in the sun, facing West, looking out over the beautiful Dry Valley, enjoying a cool beverage. It was a perfect setting. He said he was only waiting a few minutes which was a relief to me, but we don’t just sit out in the sun doing nothing too often up here, so some part of me wished he had a little more time to just kick back and enjoy the warm clear air.
I unlocked the lock without too much trouble and we were up top unloading in no time, and done in just a few minutes. It was awesome not to have a massive load to deal with or even have to make my bed this time, I just brought my 2 Winter sleeping bags to deal with overnight lows expected to be in the teens. Bob unloaded his kitchen stuff and sleeping stuff by the trailer, then drove his materials load out to the cabin site. He spent some time unloading and got right to work putting a stain on the deck. I took the opportunity to eat my sandwich, then took a pad out of the plastic bin on the lounge and napped in the warm sun. It was spectacular.
We both reappeared about the same time, so I took the opportunity to walk down to the new gate with Bob to change out the lock and show him where the key was hidden along the gate in the rocks. I compared the old lock with the new one and was definitely surprised how massive the old one was; it was so big, it made the new one look super wimpy and I wondered if I had gone too small. It was so much easier to get in the hole and lock and unlock though, and the housing is so small, I just didn’t think that anyone could get anything big enough to mess with the lock, so we swapped it out. Then we swapped out the key and it was cocktail time.
We had the neighbors over for dinner for the first time getting together in years. Jordan and Jenny’s wedding and then Haley and Brett’s wedding had really put me in a social feel good mood. Then K’s friend Terry came over for dinner, up from the Central Coast to see a play. We sat out on the deck on a gorgeous evening BBQing, eating, and drinking wine. It was so nice and pleasant. While we were sitting out there, our neighbor Ron texted me to see how everything went on our trip. K and I had finished our Oregon Coast trip and Ron fed the cats and fish (and apparently the turtle too) while we were gone. I told him we would have them over for dinner soon.
And so it happened, the following Saturday night Ron and Lisa and Mick and Jan came over for dinner. I went to 4 different Middle-Eastern/Eastern European deli’s buying an array of sausages to try. K bought a variety of mustards too so we had fun with a little taste test. I brought the extra sausages and mustards up with us on the trip for our first meal. I also brought some breaded eggplant that K made some time ago and froze. The sausages were really good and with the different mustards, it was again fun to mix and match the various flavors. The eggplant however was most excellent. I heated them up on a sheet of foil on the BBQ and they were outstanding. It was a great dinner.
We were both excited to have a fire, the first up there since May probably. It definitely got cold after dark,, but a nice little fire in the corral kept us toasty for a while. Bob played some tunes on his phone and we had a nice evening, until the sleep called us in. I spoke with K for a few minutes in bed, long enough for her to tell me she crushed baby under the garage door. I actually heard her scream, Baby that is, not Kristen, as she was getting squished. She ran off into the dark, all of which probably contributed to me not sleeping much. It was definitely cold, but between my 2 winter nags, I was sweating and too hot when under the bag but any part exposed was soon frozen. It was long night.
Morning was quite pleasant. I made myself stay in bed semiconscious until the sun was up, and by then, you could already feel its warmth. It was a morning I kinda missed drinking coffee, but I made an excellent brew of yogurt, blueberries, and cereal. Although cold, it was very tasty and filling. We futzed around until we were warm and limbered up and got to pecking at the gutters. I was a little daunted by the job, but after getting up on the ladder to really take a good look at the roof, we quickly decided that it made no sense to put gutters all along the sides, the entire 36 foot length of the structure. I was much relieved.
We knew the entire roof sloped horizontally to the East, parallel to the ridges in the metal roof material. Upon closer inspection, those ridges, they were much higher/larger than I suspected they were. Therefore, it was super unlikely that water would run down the slope of the roof, from ridge to lip, over those ridges, especially with the fairly gentle slope. It seemed much more likely that the water would flow the entire length of the roof, along the ridges to the Eastern end, and all of it would fall off there. It really did seem that way, and of course made our job that much easier.
So we gathered our tools and ladders and headed East. We proceeded to take down the tattered remnants of the camouflaging that Mike bought; it was now just netting, with very little of the camo remaining. Our inspection of the construction of the roof was very favorable, not only in the materials and design, but the workmanship of the installation as well. We definitely got a confidence boost from being up there and looking things over. We also got a pretty good idea of how to best collect the precipitation.
I got the idea to turn the gutters around so that the flat side was on the outside. This allowed us to easily secure the gutter to the end cap of flashing on the roof, which also was what stopped the water at the end of the roofline. The gutter, attached to the outside of the end cap such that it was literally inside the gutter, allowing it to catch all the water that ran up against it and then fell into the gutter. The gutter, being attached to the end cap, looked simply like a darker colored trim or flashing when we were done, since it was almost perfectly aligned with it all along the pitch of the “A” framed roof. Bob did all the high ladder work at the peak which I was very grateful for. We positioned the truck under each corner and were able to work out of the back for the end of the peaked roof at the corners which helped a great deal.
Now, we had to figure out how to bring the getter back to the one corner of the roof where the tank would sit. I had imagined a sort of freelance positioning of the gutter at a reverse slope of the roof line, kind of like a ancient aqueduct or a garden fountain zigging from the roof peak to the North corner, then zagging back South the entire 18’ to the South corner where they water tank will sit. However, with nothing to really attach the transference gutter to, it seemed fairly precarious and susceptible to the string winds we get up here. We revised out design to take advantage of the heavy metal bracing we attached to the structure, so that the transference gutter would run basically horizontal along the bracing, and we would use a short piece of downspout to handle the elevation drop. Rather than a series of steep rapids, we would have one 70 degree water fall.
We tried to drill one pilot hole in the heavy duty bracing and quickly went to plan B. I vividly recall muscling through that material with the large drill bits with Brett when we bolted those braces on. It was rough sledding. Now, needing the pilot holes t be much smaller, thus requiring a tiny little drill bit, made the likelihood of getting a tiny hole with a tiny bit through the heavy gauge steel very unlikely. Fortunately, the metal screws we got bit through the steel with a very reasonable amount of persuasion and we were back in business. While attaching the roofline gutters to the end cap flashing is well attached, that metal was rather flimsy and so there is a little play in it. There is no play in the gutter attached to the bracing, and again, the gutter runs just in line with the bracing so it doesn’t look like anything new has been added, just a different trim color.
Since our design had changed a bit from the initial concept, I didn’t bring enough down spout hole pieces. We need 2 more for the south corners; one from the ridge line and one from the cross bracing that will drop near vertically into the tank. However, since we also changed the location of the transference gutter to along the bracing, it now resides much lower than anticipated. I already had to pass up the Norwesco tank from Tractor Supply which are the 2 – 1100 gallon tanks we have. I imagine with all the supply chain malfunctions we are having, they jacked up the price almost 30% to $3,000. Mike found a guy in Susanville selling a 2500 gallon tank for $2100, but then I found a 3000 gallon tank from Tank Depot for $2200 so I had been talking to Beverly with them.
Unfortunately, now that tank was too tall, so I got on the horn with her, all the way back in Texas, and she found me another shaped tank that would fit under the lower gutter. Since now I needed a specific sized tank, I bought it on site, and arranged to pick it up at a distribution center in Anderson when Mike and I come up in a couple weeks. However, part of the reason I didn’t sleep much the second night was because with the shorter height of this tank, came a much wider body, some 127” in diameter, more than 10’. I couldn’t sleep trying to imagine hauling that tank in the Tundra the 3 hour drive from Anderson, passing logging trucks and big rigs with a wide load, 2’ wider than that allowed for a big rig, and only 2’ short of the entire 12’ lane width. Sleep was sparse.
Nonetheless, we were done with the gutter and downspout work and were very pleased with our design for its functionality and creativity, 2 things I greatly value. The timing was perfect as it was just a bit after noon, so we stopped for a great lunch. Bob moved our chairs down below the kitchen tank out in the glorious sun. It was super pleasant as I hacked into the super dry pork roast I got at the IGA in Susanville. I should have known, but, it was till tasty. I also ate the chicken Caesar salad and it was good. A beverage to wash it down, the boost of having the gutter in place, the great weather, the tank purchase, and all afternoon to work on the cabin screen door was almost enough to give me some energy and relive my back pain.
After the Motrin kicked in, I was good to go. Bobby surprised me by taking on the door frame repair. The knuckleheads had wrecked it pretty good when they kicked the door in so the latch was gone and the door stayed closed only because of the tight fit. It was awesome to watch him with drill bits and chisels and a couple precise saw cuts remove the old and prepare a clean straight space for the repair. We screwed in the new patch at an angle to really pull it into alignment and anchor the hell out of. A bright shiny new latch plate and we were good as new. It was a great improvement.
Now, the screen door has those massive one way bolts with a cheesy drive that is supposed to catch the minimal ridge on the bolt heads and sink the 4” bolt into good wood to achieve the secure part. Without the ability to reverse the bolts to “try again”, the “hole” procedure (see what I did there) is a tad dicey. Bob had warned me so I did remember to bring the vice grips. As Bob got the frame level and a pilot hole drilled for the bottom bolt, we realized the other side didn’t seem to be wide enough to align with the 2×4 framing. We didn’t have any room to scootch the screen door over any as we were barely in the 2×4 on that side. It appeared we needed a 34” screen door for a 32” door opening.
After some scratching of heads, and the door falling on my head, perhaps inspired by our drilling on the trailer cover, it was decided to drill new angled pilot holes in the metal screen door frame and do our best to catch as much good framing wood as w could. Thank goodness we had all the tools, materials, and parts and pieces we needed, although creativity and inventiveness fixes a lot of ills out here. With altered angled holes drilled, we sank the hell out of those bolts and they dug into good wood and we were much relieved. The prospect of not having the door done, or worse having to buy another door and then do this all over again was preposterous.
We were down to the short piece across the top, which we angle drilled so that we could sink these bolts into the header above the door. Problem was, we apparently lost the last bolt we needed. Fear not, as I had a bag of massive nails, nay small spikes, that we used for the last bolt, just before Bob found the lost bolt in his pants. Be that as it may, we were done with 2 big jobs and we did it in one reasonable days work. The day had been as calm as any day up here and the warm sun just was as pleasant as could be. I had turned the water heater on in the trailer at lunch time so we could take hot showers, but first we needed a celebratory beverage, and it was getting near game time so we needed to get ready for the pregame festivities. I saw a sweet bunny by the trailer.
Bob showered while I picked up a bit and then I showered while he prepped for dinner and the ball game. The Giants were playing game 5 of the NLCS Divisional Series, first time in history the Giants have played the Dodgers in the playoffs. Seems hard to believe after 131 years of playing each other in the same division, but that is what they say. The shower was great but brief; I am having a hard time believing there s really 6 gallons of hot water in that tank, however, a hot shower was a treat. It was time for fire and beverages.
I brought up a Costco package of chicken thighs and another container of a frozen vege brew from our garden’s produce of zucchini, eggplant, sweet peppers, and onion. It was great to BBQ as the sun set, listening to the ballgame, having a beverage, and basking in the glow of a hugely productive day. Bob whipped up some killer pasta and the vege brew was delicious. I forced myself to finish a second heaping portion of the vegetables to finish them off. After dinner, we got a big fire going as we were going to stay up and listen to the game. We got after some long pieces that Bill brought up some time ago and heated up the corral quite nicely.
The game was close and super exciting, but the Dodgers just seem to get the clutch hitting more often than not, and Cody Bellinger did it again, driving in Justin Turner with a single in the top of the 9th for the winning run. It was really disappointing, but not at all surprising. Even though the Giants won the division with an astounding 107 wins, the Dodgers had 106 and basically an all-star team bought with endless money, more than twice the payroll of the giants. It always seemed the Dodgers were the better team, which made the year all that more enjoyable, but the outcome a tad more predictable.
By the end of the game, it was way below freezing outside, and a foot from the huge fire you knew it. Since we had to keep the fire big right up to the minute we were done, I had t douse the flames and then run into the cabin. There was no milling about or doddering before I got in the cabin and under the covers. It is remarkable how much solar radiation the cabin absorbs through the massive windows on the South and West sides. I’m not saying the cabin was still warm inside at 9:30 at night when the lows would be in the low 20’s, but it was mild at least, and this with no insulation or paneling. I can’t wait to get to the inside of the cabin next year.
For now, I had to figure out how not to overheat with my 2 winter bags. I finally allowed myself to unzip the bottom bag and allow the massive, zero degree bag on top to hold in all the heat. I was plenty warm, too hot at times, but I still didn’t sleep that well, worrying about trying to haul the tank up I guess. But, I was satisfied to relax in my warm bed and think back on the great day we had, how super clear it was and how the clean air made everything seem so close. It seemed the Warner’s were as close as they ever have been, and McDonald Peak could have been walking distance.
I eventually did fall asleep and my inner alarm clock stayed off well past sunrise. I was surprised to see it already 8:00 when I finally got up and of course, Bob was laser focused on a chore of his. He was looking for pick and shovel to do some road work before I got back from my morning dookie. With nothing specific on the to-do list before I left, I felt really relaxed and intent to just kick back, make a list, check it twice, and enjoy a few hours. Bob headed down the road a little after 9:00 and I was left alone to relax, or not. He texted me to tell of a herd of Antelope in Dry Valley. What a perfect send off.
I finished a little sip of vino from last night and sat out on the first tier beyond the lounge. One of my goals for next year is to get out on the rock tiers beyond the lounge more. The views from out there are stupendous and they are just a few more places that feel really good and special. On my way back in, I picked at a few rocks to level them out a little and to create the makings of a path. Back on the main path out to the lounge, I worked a couple big flat pieces back into place from where I had originally moved them, exposing some less attractive cobbles underneath the super cool massive flat natural stepping stones. I met with some success but realized this would become a more intricate job for another day. I had a little more wine.
I began to pick up, organize, and load the truck. Although I didn’t have that much, I was bringing back a fair amount of the gutter I brought up, a few joist hangers I need for the wisteria arbor expansion here, and a few of the cement piers also for a project back home. I let the water drain out of the trailer to make sure the pipes didn’t freeze, and tried to make sure all the hoses from the kitchen tank were also free of water. I had the genius idea of bringing the stock tank over to place under the ends of the gutter so that the runoff falling from such a height wouldn’t make a big mess, especially since that is where we will place the 3,000 tank.
Speaking of which, I wanted to clear and prepare that space so that we would be ready to place the tank where we needed it whenever it could be delivered. I began picking out the loose rocks, then went to a pry bar, then went to the pick and that worked exceptionally well. It was hard work even though it was a small 10×10 area. I had to take many breaks and soon felt the effects of morning wine. I felt like I picked all the rock and sharp pointy objects out of the earth, so I started to drag the loose soil around to sort of level it and have a real soft surface. Before long, I felt like it was close enough to work, and easy enough to fine tune if need be before the tank came. We also could secure more soil to soften the bottom where the tank will sit, or stand I guess.
I gathered the stuff I was bringing back, and tried to keep up on the list of goods and materials I needed next time, and of course, the jobs I wanted to do to prepare for winter, especially since the next trip could be the last for the year. I made some mini roll sandwiches and cut some pieces of the sweet potato pie I got from IGA and the remaining blueberries and lots of waters for the ride home. I rinsed off and washed my face and hands and then changed into my shorts and a clean shirt, wishing I had my sandals to drive home in. I sorted through the enormous number of keys I know have, mostly for defunct locks and nonexistent latches.
I was reluctant as usual to leave, but especially this trip as it was short and the weather was perfectly warm and clear and calm. It was quiet and peaceful and felt so good. It was another great trip. Productive, safe, no injuries, creative, resourceful, inventive. Stars, sun, and the moon, and incredible backlit contrails that shown brighter than any Hollywood gala spotlight, the moon illuminating the beam for miles across the night sky. I saw the Big Dipper standing straight up on its handle, one of only a few times I have seen that. I guess it moves in a tight circle through the night; just as good as the common meteor shower to me. I walked down to the shitter to close the window and sort through the hoses. I walked the loop road back and took some pictures of Bob’s cabin and our handiwork.
It was probably 1:30 as I headed down the road and locked the upper gate with the smaller lock for the first time. It was much easier although the new lock was greased and I got it all over my fingers which I ate as I consumed my snacks on the way home and licked the softened pie fragments from my fingers. Locking the lower gate, I took a minute to search for the Antelope, but to no avail. Bob really has an uncanny knack for seeing wildlife and for finding cool stuff while out on a hike or just a walkabout. I imagined they had moved off to a shady spot for the afternoon, still somewhere close or possibly even on the property. I toasted them all as I locked the gate and headed for pavement.
I took 70/49/89 at Hallelujah Junction through Sierra Valley and up into Truckee and was treated to gorgeous groves of Aspen, Willow, and Poplar, the trees in spectacular Fall colors. I was super happy I followed my instincts to take this route even though it takes a tad longer. The whole valley, but especially the 89 stretch was just a beautiful scene and I was very fortunate to get to witness it. I listened to great tunes all the way home. I have an old MP3 player that has completely gone rogue. I have little say what music is played on it. I used to hate to hear random songs because I thought I wasn’t respecting the artists efforts to put the songs in a specific order and listen to the album in order from start to finish to really understand what they were trying to communicate.
Now, I am OK with random, and I guess I better be because that is all I get, but this trip, it was outstanding. Tom Petty, Dylan, The Killers, Elton John, Ray LaMontagne, Steve Gunn, World Party, The Stones, Peter Gabriel, Santana, Hozier, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, CSN&Y; it was just great tune after great tune. Until I got into Penryn or Rocklin and a bunch of fucks were on the overpass with a massive “Trump Won” banner! What a bunch of stupid fucks. It bummed me out and then I got stuck in traffic around the stupid 65 interchange. I lost my mojo with such a rude return to almighty civilization, but it was great to get home to Kristen and Beth and the kitties, and apparently, one turtle.
Hart Hill w Bob Photo Gallery
